Romain Liot MBA’10J has an ambitious mission: to make fashion sustainable. When we last spoke to him in January 2026, as our INSEADer of the Month, he talked to us about INSEAD, entrepreneurship, and the incredible journey of Adore Me, the highly successful, B-Corp certified underwear brand sold to Victoria’s Secret in 2022.
We caught up with Romain at ChangeNOW in Paris, on 1 April 2026. These last few months, he’s been busy giving lectures, working on investments, advising startups, and, as he told us, writing a book, Reset Fashion, which gives an insider’s view on how the fashion industry needs to change to become sustainable.
Romain hopes Reset Fashion will be, in his words, “a shock to the system” for the fashion industry – a push towards a sustainable future. The environmental impact of fashion is often underestimated: “Fashion is responsible for around 7% of global carbon emissions – that’s four times more carbon than aviation,” Romain reminds us. But progress has so far been slow, despite mounting public pressure and efforts from within the industry.
Nevertheless, Romain is optimistic that the industry can change course towards a more sustainable future. “I think there has been too much mediocrity for too long. But there are many good initiatives going in the right direction,” he says. A desire to drive meaningful change throughout the fashion industry motivated Romain to set pen to paper.
In Reset Fashion, Romain explains that change will only come with better leadership and strategic thinking. For a start, Romain explains, businesses must see that positive impact and good business go hand in hand. “There can’t be one without the other: a sustainable business must still be profitable,” he says.
Alongside this, Romain argues that we need more honest thinking about the sustainability initiatives that will have real impact on fashion’s emissions. “There must be more focus on indirect emissions – in the supply chain or in waste management, for instance – because in fashion, 98% of the carbon comes from indirect emissions, but most of the sustainability initiatives focus on direct emissions, like store lighting,” he says.
Business schools like INSEAD can also play a major role in developing leaders who will implement better strategies in the future, according to Romain. “As it reinvents itself, fashion will need a broad leadership style. And that's where the interdisciplinary approach of INSEAD can help. We need people who can connect the dots, articulate a clear sense of purpose, and find new ways to collaborate across all sectors of the industry.”
To make fashion sustainable, there is certainly still a lot of work to be done, but Romain remains an optimist – for the longer term at least. “All the ingredients are there for meaningful change in the fashion industry: I hope that my book will help to push it in the right direction. So let’s just do it: let’s Reset Fashion,” he says.
